How to Have Thanksgiving Dinner While Camping
We are big proponents of spending Thanksgiving on the trails. Well, to be honest, we’re big proponents of spending every day on the trails. But especially holidays.And we’re not talking about skipping Thanksgiving—we mean going all-out and having a feast in the forest!
Traditional Thanksgiving fare lends itself well to campsite cooking. Here are three menu options, ranging from lazy, lightweight backpacker to aspiring campfire chef.
No-Frills Feast
Backpacking? Don’t want to cook? Not a foodie? You can still throw together a semi-traditonal dinner!
Turkey jerky
Trail mix with dried cranberries
Dehydrated green beans
Sweet potato chips
Apple granola bar
Meant to be casually consumed—on the move, on a rock, in a hammock.
Simple Supper
If you’re craving Thanksgiving fixings but don’t feel like cooking much, these simple menu items are sure to satisfy.
Turkey sandwiches with cranberry jelly
Instant stuffing
Instant mashed potatoes
Store-bought apple pie
Roasted marshmallows
Simple table settings accompany this simple supper—bandanas as placemats, sporks galore, flask of bourbon passed around to keep everyone warm and toasty.
Gourmet Group Dinner
It’s a holiday—go ahead and pull out all the stops! You have all the time in the world when you’re camping, so why not cook a full Thanksgiving dinner? And for the pièce de résistance, cook a turkey in a cardboard box oven. Yes, you read that correctly. An oven. Made of cardboard.
Cheese fondue
Cardboard box turkey
Chipotle sweet potatoes
Backcountry apple pie
Pumpkin pie fruit leather
Grilled pizza topped with chipotle sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts
You should pull out all the stops for this one—battery-operated twinkle lights hung from the trees, music playing softly from a speaker, blankets strewn invitingly. Basically glamping.
We have plenty more recipes and meal plans in our backcountry cookbooks—A Fork in the Trail, Another Fork in the Trail, and The Campfire Foodie Cookbook.
